Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. Russian military journalist takes a tour of the aftermath of the evacuation of the Kabul Airport
By Aleksandr Kots
[KP] "Silent Bob" (as I call the Taliban guard on duty at our home), having learned where we were going, even beamed with his usually lean face. With gestures that could not bear objection, he explained that he would accompany us on this short voyage. And they did not accept any arguments against this venture.
An uncle in a turban of indeterminate age, with a resinous beard and burning eyes, deftly jumped into the back of a pickup truck, put the bipod of a Kalashnikov machine gun on the cockpit and gestured: "Follow me."
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He could not miss the first excursion to the Kabul airport , just occupied by his associates, who on the eve celebrated this event from all trunks, filling the sky with lead. "Bob" that night also did not control his emotions and fired a couple of bursts outside the security perimeter to celebrate.
In the parking lot in front of the terminal, there are abandoned cars. Those lucky ones who got here by cars probably flew away. Later, a giant dead traffic jam formed many kilometers before the airport. People just got out of the car and walked on to the only gate to a new happy life, as it seemed to them. The cork was then quickly pulled apart by the Taliban.
Having taken control of the terminal, the first thing they did was to tear down the portraits of their hated predecessors in power. Someone tore a huge poster with the face of President Ghani, and under it - Karazai. He vomits again, Karzai is there again, and vomits again. So he gave up this multi-layered venture, leaving a hybrid of one bald head, eyes of the other, and a beard, it seems, of someone else. But the portrait of Ahmad Shah Massoud remained intact. The ladder did not seem to reach him.
Dry rations and machine-gun belts
This morning, the first plane since the departure of the Americans landed on takeoff at Hamid Karzai Airport, a Qatar Air Force transport plane. He brought specialists to Kabul who must reanimate the air harbor in order to launch the country's air traffic with the outside world. They are surrounded by their dark-skinned guards armed with "Kalash:" black top, light bottom. They say that by the morning they will clear the strip and for a start they will begin to receive their military aircraft. They are going to continue the evacuation of those who wish and hope that other countries will join Qatar.
A fancy car drives along the runway, clearing it of accumulated debris. Preparing the runway is the easiest task. However, in order to restore civil communication, it is necessary to clean up the domestic and international terminals, which today are a depressing sight. They, of course, are not defeated by artillery, like the Donetsk airport, but today they are, perhaps, equal in terms of functionality.
At the check-in counters of the home terminal, there are computers torn out by the roots, upside-down cabinets, broken glass windows. I walk along a dark corridor, stumbled upon a metal detector horseshoe lying under my feet. The luggage scanner gives the impression of being alive. But the passenger service system will have to work.
The international terminal can only be accessed from the take-off field. The American marines lodged in it, and they barricaded the entrances from the street with furniture so that uninvited guests who wanted to fly out of the country would not break through. In the empty border booths - all the same bare wires sticking out. In the waiting room there are plundered ticket offices, currency exchange, a stall with tourist information (there is one, yes). The Americans organized the "barracks" in the luggage compartment, where opened dry rations, overturned cots, tear gas grenades (for uninvited guests) and a couple of machine-gun belts are still lying around. Lost in the turmoil.
Broken radar
“The Americans destroyed both terminals, now because of this there are a lot of problems, and we have to work hard, rebuild,” says one of the commanders of the elite Taliban 313rd Battalion * Said, who is something like the local commandant, in perfect English.
The reputation of the most professional combat unit and the equipment of its fighters speaks of "elite". From a distance, they could well be mistaken for overseas specialists - fashionable camouflage, ankle boots, tactical helmets - some even have a night light. Fancy assault rifles with a body kit, unloading equipment, orange glasses for shooting. Not the usual "students" in sneakers and a national shirt up to their heels.
- How about navigation systems? Did they destroy them too?
On this score, I do not have accurate information, but I think the authorities and specialists are working and doing everything possible to restore work.
The specialist is standing nearby. The aerodrome engineer says that the main problem - the main radar destroyed by the Americans, plus damaged control equipment - could not help the Marines not to leave "surprises." But, according to him, everything can be fixed. In contrast to the huge amount of aviation, which was abandoned here.
Perhaps I have never seen so many helicopters in one place. Moreover, these are the legendary "Black Hawks". Dozens of vehicles are in hangars in the former American zone of responsibility. In the fuselages - sawn round holes: some equipment was taken away. Dashboards are smashed with a hammer, gearboxes are destroyed, inspection windows are smashed. “They can afford it,” flashes in my head. However, one specialist told me that equipment was being sent here for write-off. She still had no intention of going home. The old turntables were intended for the Afghan army.
Another hangar is completely packed with light Robinson-type turntables and huge boxes of spare parts. All of them are also disabled. Only a few armored cars with Danish flags remained in working order. Apparently, there weren't enough hands.
Gateway to Las Vegas
Flight overalls scattered on the floor, tattered first-aid kits, flight logs, approach maps, even some name lists. It is clear that they have already "worked" here before us, but the Americans did not bother much with the destruction of documentation. There are tons of it here.
And here are the containers for the dogs. Scattered nearby food, leashes, bottles of shampoo for animals. There are no service dogs themselves. Left without owners, they fled, breaking free.
"The British media are reporting that the Taliban * sentenced these dogs to death," I tell Sayid.
No, that's not true. Indeed, the Americans left the dogs , but our teams are trying to collect and place them.
- Are they alive? How many are there?
- I cannot give you exact numbers, but they are alive. From the very beginning we keep in touch with those who deal with them, they feed them, there are no problems. They are safe.
According to my interlocutor, animals can go to serve in the Taliban. Or airport security.
It starts to get dark, and "Silent Bob", who has imposed on the escorts, shows with gestures that it is time to wrap up. Along the concrete strip, on which the American dream in its export version was smashed from a great height quite recently, we leave the airport and find ourselves, if not in Las Vegas, then at least in Reno.
Shining windows of the city center, walking men with children, invitingly flickering neon signs of a cafe. Burger Point, Dubai Wedding Hall, Stars Palace, Sky Business Center flash in the window. Reno ends abruptly, as if you are driving through an invisible border, beyond which there are dark neighborhoods disconnected from electricity. And the alarming silence is not disturbed by the rumble of turboprop transporters in the sky that has become habitual these days.
Aleksandr Kots is a Russian military journalist 
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